Devil’s Dictionary Lookup

DictionaryNet’s mission is direct you to valuable dictionaries and glossaries covering a wide range of fields. When envisioning my blog, I strongly rejected the idea to actually place a dictionary for directed access on my blog. Well, there is one dictionary that is too much of a temptation to me. I simply couldn’t resist adding Ambrose Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary. I spent too many hours enjoying this witty work of “Bitter Bierce”.

Actually you will find quite a number of online versions of the Devil Dictionary. So why another one? Certainly out of admiration for this work, but my idea is that in a next step I will find a way to enable you to comment and easily share EACH of the definitions. Please bear with me, until I worked that out.

For now – I cordially invite you to browse and enjoy the Devil’s Dictionary. If you are not familiar with this dictionary, published in 1906, be warned:  Political correctness has no entry in this dictionary.

From ABASEMENT to AVERNUS | From BAAL to BRUTE | From CAABA to CYNIC

From DAMN to DUTY | From Eat to EXTINCTION | From FAIRY to FUTURE

From GALLOWS to GUNPOWDER | From HABEAS CORPUS to HYPOCRITE | From I to ITCH

From J to JUSTICE | From K to KORAN | From LABOR to LYRE

From MACE to MYTHOLOGY | From NECTAR to NOVEMBER | From OATH to OYSTER

From PAIN to PYRRHONISM | From QUEEN to QUOTIENT | From RABBLE to RUSSIAN

From SABBATH to SYMBOLIC | From T to TZETZE | From UBIQUITY to UXORIOUSNESS

From VALOR to VOTE | From W to WRATH | From X to X

From YANKEE to YOUTH | From ZANY to ZOOLOGY

Welcome to Dictionary Net

Thanks for visiting. I hope some of the glossaries and dictionaries I describe here will help you in one way or the other. Know that they are all handpicked and I try to keep the links as clean and intact as possible. If you find a broken link or would like to suggest a reference work to be included here, do not hesitate to contact me at dictionarynet123@gmail.com.

With best regards,

Ursula – Your Dictionary Guide

Agriculture Glossary

U.S. House Committee on Agriculture: Agriculture Glossary

No. of terms: close to 2000

Description: An outstanding reference source covering different aspects related to agriculture. “A Glossary of Agricultural Terms, Programs and Laws. A product of the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress at the request of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture.”

Example term: Farm income
Several measures are used to gauge the earnings of a farming operation over a given period of time: Gross cash income is the sum of all receipts from the sale of crops, livestock, and farm related goods and services as well as all forms of direct payments from the government. Gross farm income is the same as gross cash income with the addition of nonmoney income, such as the value of home consumption of self-produced food and the imputed gross rental value of farm dwellings. Net cash income is gross cash income less all cash expenses such as for feed, seed, fertilizer, property taxes, interest on debt, wages to hired labor, contract labor and rent to nonoperator landlords. Net farm income is gross farm income less cash expenses and noncash expenses, such as capital consumption, perquisites to hired labor, and farm household expenses. Net farm income is a longer term measure of the ability of the farm to survive as a viable income-earning business, while net cash income is a shorter term measure of cash flow.

More Agricultural Dictionaries on DictionaryNet

Keywords: Forestry Terms, Forestry Glossary, Agricultural Glossary, U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, Agriculture Glossary, Terms, Dictionary, Agricultural Terminology, Agriculture Definitions, Farming terms

Quote as:U.S. House Committee on Agriculture: Agriculture Glossary.

Volcano Glossary

Volcano Glossary

No. of terms: approximately 400

Description: The Volcano Glossary by the expert and adventurer John Seach is a great place to look up terms related to volcanoes. John Seach traveled over the past 20 years to the world’s most exciting volcanoes, and witnessed eruptions during trips to more than 100 volcanoes.

The glossary is part of Seach’s website “Volcano Live”, “which monitors worldwide volcanic activity, and provides adventure tours to the world’s most exciting volcanoes. Volcano Live is the world’s only company working exclusively in volcano film and television production.”

Example term: Pyroclastic Flows/Ash Flow
Pyroclastic Flows and Nuée ardentes are the most dangerous of all the volcanic eruption styles. Pyroclastic flows are clouds of hot gas, ash, and clasts which move down hill under the action of gravity. They can move at speeds of 100 km per hour and destroy everything in their path. Mt Pelee produced a pyroclastic flow in 1902 which killed 29 000 people. Pyroclastic flows can be caused by column collapse, lava dome collapse, or boiling over of a vent like a pot of rice. Pyroclastic flows are driven by gravity and are channeled into valleys.

Distances travelled. Up to 100 km.
Speed of flows. 900 km/hr.
Temperature. 600-1100 deg C.

Pyroclastic flows are different to a Nuée ardente.

Keywords: volcano, volcanoes, eruption, volcano terms, terminology, glossary, dictionary, geography

Quote as: Volcano Glossary © John Seach. volcanolive.com. All Rights Reserved.

ODLIS — Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science

ODLIS — Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science.  Also available in print as hardcover or paperback from Libraries Unlimited.

Last visited: November 02, 2011

No. of terms: 4,200 terms and cross-references

  Golden Favourite
Description: ODLIS , written by Joan Reitz, Haas Instruction Librarian, Western Connecticut State University, is a most remarkable reference resource for library and information science and it aims at professionals, university students, and users of all types of libraries. The target of the dictionary is certainly to be as comprehensive as possible:
“Broad in scope, ODLIS includes not only the terminology of the various specializations within library science and information studies but also the vocabulary of publishing, printing, binding, the book trade, graphic arts, book history, literature, bibliography, telecommunications, and computer science when, in the author’s judgment, a definition might prove helpful to librarians and information specialists in their work. Entries are descriptive, with examples provided when appropriate.”

Example term: name index
A list of the personal names appearing of a work, arranged alphabetically by surname, with reference to the page number(s) on which each name can be found in the text. Not all books have a separate name index–personal names may be included in a general index or in the subject index. When present in a single-volume work, the name index is part of the back matter. In a multivolume work, it is usually found at the end of the last volume. Compare with author index.

Keywords: Library science, Information studies, publishing, printing, binding, the book trade, graphic arts, book history, literature, bibliography, dictionary, vocabulary, terminology, ODLIS, ODLIS Dictionary

Quote as: ODLIS — Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science. Copyright © 2004-2010 by Joan M. Reitz. All Rights Reserved.

CMA Glossary of Photographic Terms

CMA Glossary of Photographic Terms

Language: English

No. of terms: 77

Description: This small collection of terms related to photography is found on the website of The Cleveland Museum of Art, being additional information for their outstanding past exhibition “Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art”, the first major exhibition to focus on the museum’s distinguished photography collection. So what makes this small glossary special is its focus on historical terms. And when checking out the glossary, why not having a look to the interesting and enlightening documentation of this exhibition.

Please note, the navigation of this glossary is a bit odd. With the given URL you will reach a term list, where the terms are NOT clickable. Please click the letter introducing each group. This link will bring you the actual definitions.

Example Term: Calotype
Photography’s first successful negative/positive process, allowing many positive prints to be produced from a single negative. First, high-quality writing paper, made light-sensitive with potassium iodide and silver nitrate solutions, was exposed through an aperture in a camera to light reflected off the desired subject. The latent image became visible when it was developed in gallic acid and silver nitrate. It was then fixed with hyposulfite of soda and rinsed. The resulting paper negative, or calotype, was placed in a hinged, wooden frame and contact-printed in daylight on another piece of light-sensitive paper. When the print had developed out to the desired tonality, the process was chemically stopped and fixed.

The calotype process was patented in 1841 by British photographer William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877). The term comes from the Greek kalos (beautiful). Usually reddish-brown or purplish in color, photographs from calotype negatives are characterized by broad effects of light and shadow because the texture of the paper prevents sharp details. Waxing the paper negative, a further refinement, yielded results much closer to the wet collodion process. The average exposure time was a few minutes or longer, varying according to the lighting conditions and size of the picture, which could range from tiny to mammoth proportions.

More Photography Dictionaries & Glossaries on DictionaryNet

Keywords: photography, photographic dictionary, photographic glossary, photo, dictionary, glossary, vocabulary, terminology, digital photography, photographic terms, CMA, Cleveland Museum of Art

Quote as: Glossary of Photographic Terms. Copyright © The Cleveland Museum of Art 2006

PhotoNotes.org Dictionary of Photography

PhotoNotes.org Dictionary of Film and Digital Photography

Language: English

No. of terms: 1487


Golden Favourite

Description: The PhotoNotes.org dictionary is the most accurate, useful and comprehensive reference source offering contemporary photographic terms I found on the Net so far. On several occasions the descriptions go beyond mere definitions: they include the theoretical background of the term or summarize historical concepts in photography. Where suitable they give practical examples as a way of explanation. The author NK Guy took care that digital and film photography found equal coverage in his work.
To make it short: A great dictionary for everyone interested in photography from the beginner to the experienced professional.

Example Term: Parallax focussing
Also “reticle focussing.” This is a focussing technique which relies on a ground glass which has a reticle – a small mark, such as crosshairs, etched or engraved onto its surface.
This mark is used as a focussing aid, particularly for macro work. The photographer looks at the mark and moves his or her eye. If the reticle appears stationary then the subject is deemed to be in focus. The technique exploits parallax differences, and really needs a magnifier attachment to be effective.
cf. parallax, reticle.

More Photography Dictionaries & Glossaries on DictionaryNet

Keywords: photography, photographic dictionary, photographic glossary, photo, dictionary, glossary, vocabulary, terminology, digital photography

Quote as: PhotoNotes – Dictionary of Photography. Copyright (c) 2000-2008 NK Guy, PhotoNotes.org

Law.com Legal Dictionary

Law.com Legal Dictionary
Note: This is a Web edition of The People’s Law Dictionary by Gerald and Kathleen Hill.

No. of terms: 3,000

Description: The People’s Law Dictionary is regarded as one of the most comprehensive and practical legal dictionaries on the Web and is certainly a very valuable tool to decipher the legal phrases and jargon that surround us. The People’s Law Dictionary can be found on several web sites. I preferred to point out the integration at Law.com, as there you have the possibility to search for a term, search the definitions or browse the legal terminology alphabetically. If you have a website you might even want to integrate this dictionary as a service to your visitors.

Example term: plea bargain
n. in criminal procedure, a negotiation between the defendant and his attorney on one side and the prosecutor on the other, in which the defendant agrees to plead “guilty” or “no contest” to some crimes, in return for reduction of the severity of the charges, dismissal of some of the charges, the prosecutor’s willingness to recommend a particular sentence or some other benefit to the defendant. Sometimes one element of the bargain is that the defendant reveal information such as location of stolen goods, names of others participating in the crime or admission of other crimes (such as a string of burglaries). The judge must agree to the result of the plea bargain before accepting the plea. If he does not, then the bargain is cancelled. Reasons for the bargain include a desire to cut down on the number of trials, danger to the defendant of a long term in prison if convicted after trial and the ability to get information on criminal activity from the defendant. There are three dangers: a) an innocent defendant may be pressured into a confession and plea out of fear of a severe penalty if convicted; b) particularly vicious criminals will get lenient treatment and be back “on the street” in a short time; c) results in unequal treatment. Public antipathy to plea bargaining has led to some state statutes prohibiting the practice, but informal discussions can get around the ban.

Keywords: legal dictionary, law dictionary, legal, terms, terminology, dictionary, law, legal term, legal jargon, definition, legal definition, definition of legal terms.

Quote as: The People’s Law Dictionary by Gerald and Kathleen Hill, Publisher Fine Communications.

InvestorWords.com – Investing Glossary

InvestorWords.com – Investing Glossary

No. of terms: 6000

Description: InvestorWords.com is one of the website that made a specific terminology their business. You can expect from such a site that, if done well, it is to have comprehensive coverage of the terminology and to keep up with new developments and terms. On InvestorWords.com you are likely to find any financial term you are looking for. So this is a sure bookmark for all working in the fields of investment and finance.
Financial topics that are covered are Accounting, Banking, Bonds, Brokerages, Currencies, Dividends,  Economy, Forex, Futures, Insurance, Law/Estate Planning, Mutual Funds, Options, Real Estate, Stocks, Taxes and others. You may browse the financial and investment terms according to those categories.
An additional nice feature of the site is the “Word of the Day” that will be sent to your email.

Example term: money market account
A savings account which shares some of the characteristics of a money market fund. Like other savings accounts, money market accounts are insured by the Federal government. Money market accounts offer many of the same services as checking accounts although transactions may be somewhat more limited. These accounts are usually managed by banks or brokerages, and can be a convenient place to store money that is to be used for upcoming investments or has been received from the sale of recent investments. They are very safe and highly liquid investments, but offer a lower interest rate than most other investments.

Note: Definitions on InvestorWords.com are enhanced with hyperlinks. Good feature that always helps to get into a certain area.

Keywords: financial dictionary, financial glossary, investment terms, finance terms, business terminology,finance, business and economics,

Quote as: Copyright©1997-2008 by InvestorGuide.com, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED